Homemade Ranch Dressing

This homemade ranch dressing is made with five simple ingredients and after you make it, you may never buy a bottle of ranch again! It works well as a dip, too!

Homemade Ranch Dressing

I have a confession to make. I didn't always like ranch dressing. I was not (and am not) the kind of person who puts it on their pizza or dips their veggies in it. Ranch was never a taste I enjoyed.

My friend made us cheesy ranch chicken a while back and — you guessed it — it had ranch dressing. Now, I don't hate ranch, I just wouldn't choose it. But, it was SO good.

So to my surprise, I realized maybe I didn't dislike ranch as much as I thought. As usual, I wondered how difficult it was to make homemade ranch dressing. At the time, I truthfully had no idea what was in ranch! I set out to find out.

Now, I'm obsessed with ranch dressing. I am a true ranch lover. It is one of those things that is so much better when it's homemade. It really is the best ranch dressing. I put it on all kinds of salads, serve it with fresh veggies, and dip chicken wings in it.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• This recipe is incredibly simple and still has that classic ranch flavor. So simple, you may never buy a bottle of ranch again!
• Homemade ranch tastes great on salads, chicken wings, pizza, veggies, french fries — you name it!
• You can feel good about the ingredients in this healthy ranch dressing recipe. 

Tools You'll Need

Here's what you will need to make this easy healthy ranch dressing:

Immersion blender: A few years back I told Steven I wanted an immersion blender (affiliate) for my birthday. Why? No idea. I thought it sounded cool and wanted to use it for soups and such. And then I discovered this ranch dressing! This kind of blender is so easy to use right in a big jar.

Food processor: You could use a food processor instead — and I did for these photos. They are a great tool that you can use to make so many things, from whipped feta dip to a quick tomato salsa.

Glass jars: You will also want something to store your ranch in. Glass jars are a wonderful addition to any kitchen.

Ingredients

Making this healthy homemade ranch dressing at home is so quick and easy, but you do need to hit the grocery store to grab some fresh herbs. Dried herbs just aren't as good.

• high-quality mayonnaise: Don't skimp here! This is important for the creamiest ranch. Substitute plain Greek yogurt instead for a lighter dressing. 
• sour cream: You can use light sour cream or vegan sour cream. 
• milk: Whole milk is great, but 2% is okay too. Use buttermilk for a great flavor. 
• garlic: You'll need one or two cloves of fresh garlic. You don't need it to be overly garlicky so the herbs can shine. You can use garlic powder or minced garlic in a pinch if needed.
• fresh chives: Grab a big bunch! That way you can add some more if you want it herbier.
• fresh parsley: Ditto for this! More is merrier.
• lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice makes a big difference but you can use the bottled stuff if you like.
• salt: Kosher salt or sea salt should be in your kitchen.
• black pepper: Freshly cracked pepper brings lots of flavor.

For more fresh flavor, some other herbs and spices you can add are fresh dill, onion powder or chipotle chili powder (but just a pinch!). 

Variations & Substitutions

Adjust the consistency: This ranch dressing is thick and creamy, more like a ranch dip, but you can add more milk to it to make it more of a salad dressing consistency if you want!

Make a healthier ranch dressing: Use plain yogurt (preferably Greek yogurt) instead of mayonnaise and a light sour cream. You can use coconut milk or almond milk instead. 

Make dairy-free ranch dressing: Omit the sour cream (or use a dairy-free brand) and use dairy-free milk. Be sure to check the mayonnaise to be sure it is dairy-free. (Most mayos are, but some have a touch of milk.)

Ranch Flavors

You can have a lot of fun with this ranch dressing recipe! Here are some ways you could tweak it to make up your own ranch dressing recipes:

• Avocado ranch: Add half an avocado into the mix.
• Jalapeño ranch: Blend up some fresh jalapeños with the herbs.
• Cilantro lime ranch: Use cilantro instead of parsley and lime juice instead of lemon.
• Sriracha ranch: Add a squirt of sriracha to the ranch, to taste.
• Buffalo ranch: Season it with buffalo sauce to make it spicy.
• Bacon ranch: Mix in a couple pieces of bacon. It might be a little chunky. 
• Buttermilk ranch: Use buttermilk instead of milk in this recipe. 
• Make up your own: Have fun with other fresh herbs and seasonings!

Whichever ranch flavor you decide on, you'll definitely want a batch of Air Fryer Chicken Wings to dip!

Let me know what flavorful dressing combinations you come up with.

How to Make Ranch Dressing

This homemade salad dressing probably takes a total of 5 minutes to make. There's really no chopping (unless you count cutting a lemon in half), and the immersion blender or food processor whips it up super quickly.

So here's what to do:

Throw everything in a mixing bowl, jar or in the food processor bowl.

Then pulse it up with food processor or use the immersion blender (affiliate) to blend it until it is smooth. Some chunks of herbs are okay, or you can make it smoother if you like.

Give it a taste, and add more herbs, salt, pepper and lemon juice as you see fit. I like mine to have a lot of herbs, and sometimes mine comes out a little green!

Now you know how easy it is to make homemade dressing with the best ranch flavor!

Store it in a food-safe, airtight container like a mason jar.

Uses for Ranch Dressing

Ranch dressing is so good on so many things. It's a thicker dressing, so it works really well as a dip. (If you want it thinner, add a little more milk.) 

There's salads, of course. It's so good on your favorite salad — trust me. But ranch is so versatile on all kinds of dishes.

You can also use it as a dipping sauce for all kinds of things, like:

• chicken wings
• pizza
• cooked or fresh vegetables like broccoli or carrots
• french fries
• sweet potato fries

This tangy ranch dressing is great on wraps and sandwiches too. Spread it on turkey burgers (or any kind of burger, really) or put it in a chicken bacon ranch wrap.

It's also an excellent ingredient for other recipes, like buffalo chicken dip.

And it's the perfect consistency to drizzle on top of pan-seared chicken or add to twice-baked potatoes. YUM.

More homemade staples

• Kale Arugula Pesto
• Homemade Italian Breadcrumbs
• Burger Seasoning
• Lemon Pepper Seasoning
• Stir Fry Sauce
• Burger Sauce

What pantry/kitchen staples do you love to make?